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NCAA needs to look at rules to protect college players as much as to punish them

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thefanview

Publishing date:

April 4, 2013 • 6 minute read

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By Michael Hobson

College sports are about money. Don’t ever forget that fact. So when a story like Mike Rice at Rutgers becomes public it isn’t surprising. A bit unnerving however is that typically college athletes are forced to find their own insurance in case of injury. This came to light after the devastating Kevin Ware injury at the regional basketball finals of the NCAA tournament.

NCAA needs to look at rules to protect college players as much as to punish themBack to video

In case you missed it Ware suffered a Jorge Garbajosa type injury. Ware leapt into the air to block a shot and landed awkwardly on one leg causing a bone to snap. The bone was actually pushing out the side of his leg. Raptor fans remember Garbajosa coming down awkwardly under the basket in Boston and fracturing his leg in much the same way. Gruesome is the common word used to describe both injuries.

The University of Louisville is paying Ware’s medical expenses. The injury was far too public and dramatic for them to do otherwise, but that particular instance seems to be the exception rather than the rule. Players typically have to find their own personal insurance to cover possible medical expenses that may arise out of their participation in sporting events. Most universities cover the costs for severe injuries. They are not obligated to do so, but they do so for fear of possible public retribution. Imagine how Louisville would have been perceived if Ware had to pay for his own medical costs.

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So take away the dramatic injuries, the broken legs or arms, or torn ligaments etc. and imagine a player developing something that lingers like plantar fascitis. What happens to them? Well, they pay their own freight. Or at least the insurance they pay for personally covers the cost.

As I said—college sports is about money. Universities are not solely about education. Administrators are hired and fired for many reasons—the top one being a failure to make money. Universities live off their reputation. Imagine how much money was lost by Penn State after the sex abuse scandal? It goes beyond the $60 million fine, the loss of scholarships, a four-year bowl ban and the vacating of every football win from 1998 to 2011. The loss could eventually be in the billions.

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Television-rights fees are now into the billions—the NCAA currently has an $11 billion TV contract for its March Madness basketball tournament and the upcoming major-college football playoff could earn as much as $5 billion. Sponsorships, ticket sales and licensing deals bring more. A big-time football or basketball program can generate tens of millions of dollars per season.

The athletes? Well, they get a scholarship. The university provides them with an education free of charge. And the athlete is supposed to, and rightfully so, be grateful for the opportunity. But then athletes are not thinking about the what-ifs. They aren’t thinking about what could go wrong—they are simply thrilled to have an opportunity to play big time college sports and perhaps lay the groundwork for future employment as a professional athlete.

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There is little doubt that universities exploit their athletes. In the business of college sports universities do not pay for labour. Notre Dame earns millions of dollars every year from the television contract they have with NBC. All big time universities earn millions from sponsorships and from the sales of paraphernalia—with the names of the athletes etched on the back. The athletes do not see any money from anything that has their likeness, such as bobbleheads or household items, or that have their name etched on it like jerseys and paper products.

For the very fortunate—those with exceptional athletic ability—they have the opportunity to turn professional before their four year university program is complete. For those very few athletes the system works. For the larger number of athletes they play for four years, graduate and then move into a field of their choice—hopefully having used the scholarship to earn a quality degree. And hopefully those athletes have not incurred some type of injury that may require long lasting care.

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The Mike Rice affair comes at the athlete from a different angle. Coaches in college sports are anointed with unlimited power. If an athlete does not agree with his or her coaching methods he/she has the option of transferring to another school. Of course that would require a one year absence from sports. NCAA rules state that if a student transfers in order to play in another program that student must relinquish one year of participation. So if any of Rice’s players at Rutgers wanted to transfer they would have to sit out a year. Rice was accused, suspended and then eventually fired for the physical and verbal abuse of his players.

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The Rutgers program and administration has come under severe criticism for doing exactly the same thing that Penn State did—putting their heads into the ground and hoping that the problem went away. Rice was caught on video verbally abusing his players and throwing basketballs at their heads. Rutgers initially suspended the coach for three games but when the video became public they quickly dismissed him. The old adage—do you whatever you want, just don’t get caught—comes into play with college coaches.

The NCAA is quick to criticize, suspend and punish those athletes they view who compromise the integrity of the student-athlete university system. Ohio State had a number of athletes suspended, and a coach fired, when it was reported that the players had traded university memorabilia for tattoos. Seemingly a minor affront to the rules culminated in a major scandal involving the university and its football program.

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It seems that players are strict members of the university fraternity and must follow the rules to the letter—unless they get hurt. At that point they are on their own.

Thoughts that arise in me…

…Toronto sports fans are quick to press the panic button. After an off-season of building hype and anticipation the Blue Jays lost the first two games of the season at home to an inferior Cleveland Indians club. Two losses does not mean that the season will be one of lost hope and continued despair. The pitching staff is solid—the starters will keep the Jays in nearly every game and there is depth in the bullpen. The team lost those first two games because their offence, which will eventually show up, is off to a slow start. Typically pitchers are ahead of the hitters at this early juncture but eventually the cream will rise to the top. Most teams possess two quality starting pitchers. The Jays have five. Don’t worry fans, this team will be fine.

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…My contract sucks. So says Roberto Luongo. Sure, it’s frustrating Roberto that you have devolved into a highly paid back-up and certainly your contract precludes the possibility of your moving to another team. But when you signed the contract you believed that you, and your family, were set for life. That hasn’t changed. You’re just going to have to suck it up, play whenever you are called on and be content having many millions of dollars in the bank.

…So more than $340,000 worth of goods was stolen from the home of Chris Bosh. There apparently wasn’t any perimeter break and it occurred while Bosh was out celebrating his birthday with a number of close friends and hangers-on. Sounds like an inside job. Perhaps Bosh needs to be a little more circumspect with regards to whom he calls friends.

…So Auburn fudged some school grades and paid millions of dollars to ensure that their vaunted football program kept their better players. Business as usual in big time university athletics, right?

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